US - Shots fired at Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania as former president is seen with blood across his face, 13 July 2024

[Elley Mae]

Not sure you meant to reply to my comment about his parents.

jmo

Sorry, article saying camouflage.

 

[Inthedetails]

I think that this could ironically make them less aware of their own kid’s problems. Like they could have worked with kids who were more obviously troubled and not seen their kid in that way.

But the kid knew their profession and sure must have known this would ruin their reputations, upset them to their very core, etc. I seriously wonder if part of the motivation was to hurt his own parents.

Obviously, this is speculation only. Just processing the info as it comes in.

jmo

 

[Furore]

I think that this could ironically make them less aware of their own kid’s problems. Like they could have worked with kids who were more obviously troubled and not seen their kid in that way.

Agree sometimes “Martyr like” parents are more consumed with external issues rather than focussing on their own children, or had unusual methods of reinforcement and
Boundary setting in childhood. It must be tragic losing a child in any circumstances let alone one with international scrutiny and vitriol, maybe they too will receive threats of violence and reprisal. It may even affect their employment. What a tragic turn, so many lives ruined in a split second.

 

[Inthedetails]

It seems baffling to me he expected to survive an assassination attempt after firing not just at Trump but members of the crowd being tragically killed. I also wonder if he were indeed a loner if he was radicalised online. Your average young graduate is not out there making bombs and shooting presidents imo. Jmo

My hunch with the bomb is that he didn't expect to survive, but rather that he had a Plan B. If he couldn't find a place to shoot, maybe he planned to take the car somewhere and set off the bomb.

Yikes. It's awful even to think about this stuff.

jmo

 

[DoctorRose]

But the kid knew their profession and sure must have known this would ruin their reputations, upset them to their very core, etc. I seriously wonder if part of the motivation was to hurt his own parents.

Obviously, this is speculation only. Just processing the info as it comes in.

jmo

I’d guess he didn’t really think through that part. He either didn’t feel very well understood by them and could have been resentful so he didn’t care; or he did not consider the effect this would have on them. I guess I doubt that it factored into his motivation much. That is an interesting perspective to consider though.

ETA: “consider”

 

[Inthedetails]

Biden expected to address the nation at 1:30pm eastern time today (in just a few minutes).

WATCH LIVE: Biden addresses the nation after receiving briefing on Trump rally shooting

President Joe Biden is to address the nation Sunday afternoon after a Situation Room briefing about the apparent assassination attempt on his predecessor, Donald Trump.

www.pbs.org

 

[DoctorRose]

Agree sometimes “Martyr like” parents are more consumed with external issues rather than focussing on their own children, or had unusual methods of reinforcement and
Boundary setting in childhood. It must be tragic losing a child in any circumstances let alone one with international scrutiny and vitriol, maybe they too will receive threats of violence and reprisal. It may even affect their employment. What a tragic turn, so many lives ruined in a split second.

I meant more that they may have seen their own child through rose colored glasses rather than not paying attention to him.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

How did he know that building was outside the security perimeter and did not have a sniper on it, or even a sniper watching it?

I'm curious too about how he did his reconaissance and planning of the whole thing. Or did he just show up and go by the seat of his pants?

 

[Furore]

I meant more that they may have seen their own child through rose colored glasses rather than not paying attention to him.

Yes I think all parents could be guilty of the same.

 

[indicolite22]

According to a classmate, he was constantly made fun of for his clothing and appearance. He would sit alone at lunch.

 

[Furore]

I'm curious too about how he did his reconaissance and planning of the whole thing. Or did he just show up and go by the seat of his pants?

I wonder if it was a bit spontaneous and maybe the lack of his own planning meant there wasn’t any smoke beforehand for intelligence to notice?

 

[Furore]

According to a classmate, he was constantly made fun of for his clothing and appearance. He would sit alone at lunch.

I did wonder. I hesitate to use the word “incel” but there is something about societal misfits that seems to lead to random reprisals but then a well adjusted person doesn’t see murder as a viable outlet.

 

[Waxahachie1]

While we wait for information on the shooter, this is a fantastic read about a Secret Service study into assassins.

Secret Service Challenges Assassin Stereotypes (Published 1998)

New Secret Service study on assassins challenges stereotypes of assassins; study, Preventing Assassination, examined all 83 people who attacked or tried to attack an American political figure or celebrity in last 50 years; agents and psychologists analyzed lives and actions of Lee Harvey Oswald...

www.nytimes.com

-The results, recently made available, challenge several stereotypes. Fewer than half of the assassins showed symptoms of mental illness. Many shifted from one target to another, valuing the act more than the victim. Not one had communicated a direct threat to the target or to law-enforcement authorities.
The good news, the Secret Service says, is that assassins are recognizable, not by who they are, but by what they do. Though assassins fit no physical or psychological profile, most share a pattern of behavior. Assassination is not a spontaneous event, but a trail of action that can lead to discovery.

''It is far more productive, and ultimately more accurate,'' the Secret Service concluded, ''to examine a chain of thinking that leads a person to see assassination as an acceptable or necessary action, and to attend to behaviors that may precede an attack, than to simply label assassins and assassination as 'irrational' or 'crazy.' ''

-What does seem clear is that, for almost all subjects, attacks or near-lethal approaches occurred after a period of downward spiral in their lives,'' the Secret Service found.

The most frequent motive that assassins gave for attacking a public figure was to achieve notoriety or fame. Only a few wanted political change or acted in a group. Other assassins wanted to avenge a perceived wrong, to end their pain by being imprisoned or hospitalized or killed, to save the country or the world, to achieve a special relationship with the target, or, rarely, to obey voices ordering them to attack.

Assassins seeking fame usually chose a prominent victim. Feelings about the target were irrelevant.

''I would have voted for him if I hadn't been in jail charged with trying to kill him,'' one unidentified attacker told the researchers.
One-third of the assassins considered more than one target. Oswald, for example, fired a shot at a retired general less than a year before killing President Kennedy in 1963. And Mr. Hinckley stalked President Carter and the actress Jodie Foster before shooting President Reagan in 1981.

Thanks for this! As more information comes out, it seems increasingly likely the shooter fits the study's description of a person who acted to end his pain following a downward spiral in his life, by being killed in circumstances that would give him notoriety or fame. His feelings about Trump were irrelevant. The rally simply provided an opportunity to kill someone famous. If Biden had held a rally in the same location, he would have been the target.

 

[indicolite22]

I think that this could ironically make them less aware of their own kid’s problems. Like they could have worked with kids who were more obviously troubled and not seen their kid in that way.

Especially if he was quiet at home/school and did not cause trouble. The classmates described him as reserved.

 

[Inthedetails]

Thanks for this! As more information comes out, it seems increasingly likely the shooter fits the study's description of a person who acted to end his pain following a downward spiral in his life, by being killed in circumstances that would give him notoriety or fame. His feelings about Trump were irrelevant. The rally simply provided an opportunity to kill someone famous. If Biden had held a rally in the same location, he would have been the target.

I'm starting to come to the same conclusion.

jmo

 

[MassGuy]

I'm curious too about how he did his reconaissance and planning of the whole thing. Or did he just show up and go by the seat of his pants?

I think he did likely scope it out beforehand. The fact that he built bombs means that he probably had a plan in mind, coupled with the fact that he chose a perfect position in which to have a direct line of site to Trump.

 

[Betty P]

Biden expected to address the nation at 1:30pm eastern time today (in just a few minutes).

WATCH LIVE: Biden addresses the nation after receiving briefing on Trump rally shooting

President Joe Biden is to address the nation Sunday afternoon after a Situation Room briefing about the apparent assassination attempt on his predecessor, Donald Trump.

www.pbs.org

It sounds like members of Congress and others are worried. They're getting security briefings and some are cancelling travel. It's summertime, campaign season when politicians used to go out into their districts to rally and meet with constituents. After Jan. 6 and now this, its hard to blame them staying away from these public events.

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/07/14/trump-rally-shooting-updates/congress-to-get-security-briefings-after-shooting-00168096

 

[indicolite22]

I did wonder. I hesitate to use the word “incel” but there is something about societal misfits that seems to lead to random reprisals but then a well adjusted person doesn’t see murder as a viable outlet.

Perhaps he was depressed. IF that was the case, I wonder if he got adequate help.

 

[indicolite22]

It sounds like members of Congress and others are worried. They're getting security briefings and some are cancelling travel. It's summertime, campaign season when politicians used to go out into their districts to rally and meet with constituents. After Jan. 6 and now this, its hard to blame them staying away from these public events.

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/07/14/trump-rally-shooting-updates/congress-to-get-security-briefings-after-shooting-00168096

I don't understand the reaction. The threat isn't any greater today than yesterday or the day before, IMO. It's not like there's a serial killer on the loose, targeting politicians. Anyone thinking of harming knows even more now how it would end for them.

 

[fred&edna]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/14/politics/secret-service-faces-serious-questions-about-security-footprint-and-rooftop-access-at-trump-event/index.html

CNN —
In the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, there are widespread concerns and questions about how a sniper was able to obtain rooftop access roughly 150 yards from the former president’s position at the podium at an outdoor rally.

Sources have described the shooting as coming from the “three o’clock” position of Trump’s podium location, with shots coming from his right side. Seconds after gunfire rang out, Secret Service counter-assault snipers began shooting the suspect who was found on top of a roof.

Notably, the shooter’s location was outside the security perimeter, raising questions about both the size of the perimeter and efforts to sweep and secure the American Glass Research building, and how the shooter was able to obtain rooftop access.

Law enforcement sources say that part of the aftermath will include a review of whether the Secret Service had enough assets to protect Trump days ahead of officially becoming the Republican presidential nominee and whether procedures were followed to conduct security sweeps of the building that offered a vantage point for the alleged shooter.

“Foundationally, one of the most basic elements of site security, especially a site that’s outside and largely uncontrolled, is (to) eliminate sight lines to this space where the protectee will be either speaking or just occupying,” former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning. “When you look at that map, it so clearly points to those buildings that are within it, clearly within shooting range.”

'Seems like maybe some sort of failure (active and/or verbal) communication between ground patrol LE (state, local) AND SS. Not everyone involved in security at this event was on the same page.

JMO